Sir Clive: No Test split
Sir Clive Lloyd, one of cricket’s most esteemed captains, has strongly criticised proposals to introduce a two-tier system for Test cricket, which could be in place at the end of the next edition of the World Test Championship in 2027.
Speaking during a Zoom media session recently, the legendary former West Indies captain expressed deep concern about the potential consequences for the sport and its smaller member nations.
“Surely, with teams having to tick boxes to achieve Test status, relegation and promotion would be a terrible blow for those who have worked so hard to get there,” he said.
“When you play against better teams, you improve. That’s how you know how good or how bad you are. Splitting Test cricket like this will make it impossible for smaller nations to rise.”
Sir Clive, who led the West Indies to two World Cup triumphs and captained one of the most dominant Test sides in history, also took aim at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) management of the World Test Championship, describing it as poorly organised.
“If I am a Test team, I want to play to qualify (for the final). Not all teams are playing each other, and sides like Ireland and Afghanistan are excluded. The system is not right. They should sit down and have a system where it is not just T20 cricket people are looking at. People still want to watch Test cricket and until we get that right, we are always going to be in a system where we have some of the bottom teams not playing any Test cricket and some playing a world of Test cricket,” he said.
The former Guyana left-handed batsman reiterated the unique value of Test cricket as the ultimate measure of a player’s skill.
“T20 cricket is an exhibition; Test cricket is an examination. You can only tell if someone is a top-class cricketer by playing Test cricket. The ICC must prioritise creating a fair system that supports all nations equally, ensuring the survival and growth of the game.”
Sir Clive, 80, also strongly opposed comments by outgoing ICC chairman Greg Barclay, who in December suggested breaking up the West Indies into individual island teams. He was unequivocal in his rejection of the idea.
“I was very disturbed about something I saw the other day where they wanted to disband the West Indies from playing as one unit. We don’t have the population to sustain that. Playing as a unified team is the only way we’ve achieved our success.
“We need to play against better teams and receive financial support to revive our cricket. We’ve been in the ICC for nearly 100 years. We are one of, if not the most successful, Test teams over the years. At one stage for 17 years nobody had beaten us in One-Day or Test matches. We’ve won six tournaments and went 29 matches without losing,” he declared.
Highlighting the financial challenges faced by the West Indies, he pointed to the unique pressures of representing multiple islands with limited resources.
“We have 14 islands and our cricket season is held during a very expensive period for hotels and we have to fly everywhere. We need special dispensation to sustain our system. When we were in the ascendancy, we gave a lot of money to a lot of other countries and we are struggling now because things are a little bit more difficult,” he said.
One of the big differences in the cricketing world now is the proliferation of the franchise T20 leagues which is something he lamented. “T20 tournaments have destroyed our cricket (regionally). With such a small population, we’re losing our best players to leagues offering more money.”
Sir Clive captained West Indies in 74 Test matches which included 11 successive wins and a run of 26 matches without defeat. He also averaged 46.67 runs in the format, scoring 19 centuries and 39 half-centuries. (JC)
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